Show GOOD ROADS I 1 inthe 1 THE SOUTH 1 L an effort hilll a 1 atti I 1 in t the north nth lad d mot iti 11 the agitation tor for good ga roads d in the south ie is in the hands of men who mean business is shown by the recent roads congi ess at atlanta atlanto such ehr earnest a e I 1 t efforts to bring about the reform which will do more to better the condition of the american tanner farmer than any other one n 0 thing might well be imitated I 1 in n every state in the union colonel W whidby in explaining the objects of 0 tho road congress to an atlanta constitution t reporter said the object of the road congress is not BO so huchto much to discuss the present road laws in force in georgia as the necessity tor for two things first a perma permanent neut system second permanent improving of the public roads there thedois The rois Is a wide difference between working a public road and building 0 one e As at present enforced in georgia the road laws may do passably well in working the roads but there is no permanency in the work nor no system in it the road commissioners have never studied the question thoroughly und even it if they had the law does not gi give ato them the funds necessary to put permanent nen work on the roads what is desired is permanently improved roads according to a well defined and everlasting system sj stem so that tilt i work v ork done one year will last for years to come it must be in line with th that at done in other parts of the country A email small force worked under the di it of a man acquainted with the requirements of a good road and 1 it improved labor saving saying implements and material al at band handt systematically ami and continuously can secure to the people first class roads cheaper than they could be bad under the road laws of georgia this is true when the permanency of the work is considered the subject is one of vital importance to all classes it Is patent that our system of agriculture must be changed bufore it can prosper large farms and the tenant system must go small farms cultivated on the intensive system by the owners must be the order of the day lay but to reach this result resul t these email small farmers must have good roads ad to the markets the hauling of largo quantities of produce in less time than can now be done lone is an element of importance iu building up the small farmer in this day of rapid triin transit sit transportation by the common road must not be held back to the pace of the past ages the country needs the inspiring effect of faster and better transit in regard to the matter the constitution said editorially the work vork which these delegates have undertaken to do is not matter for a holiday they can hope now only to call attention to the necessity which exists for better roads and by means of thoughtful and intelligent discussion sion create a public sentiment powerful enough to dinst insist t on these vital improvements in our aad road system this thi ought on to be a very easy matter but it ia is not oar our people hav hay made progress in every other direct direction io except this so far as our roads are concerned we are no farther advanced than the barbarians were and this statement will apply not to georgia and the south alone but bat to the whole country the roads road sin in new york and pennsylvania are n no 0 better than they are here a 46 tact fact which shows that wa we are all barbarians together og ether the miserable condition of our public highways ia is a national habit and the outcome of it is a shameful piece pece of ex nevertheless the reform of our present system must proceed lowly at first no experiment is more painful and depre depressing I 1 than that which undertakes to break up a bad habit babit and t ie te condition of our roads today represents more than P ft hundred years of sloth negligence ignorance and willful extravagance one excuse for this is the fact tha tha our communities cities have invested the most of their su surplus funds and energies in t the he promotion of railroad ente aises sea the result of this is that the of mr steam transportation es tes hag has gone on very rapidly almost tuo rapidly ia in fact for perfect comfort fortunately this development of steam is now and will be a it powerful factor in convincing the farmers and d others that good roads ar are 0 a necessity s they are more of a ne necessity cess ity now than ever evir there is a greater demand now vow than there ever has been for rapid transit of produce from the farm to the railroad and thence to profitable markets the problem is one of the most important that the people can consider it is aa as important to the towns as it is to the farms arms since it affects the whole public we hare no intention of going into a detailed discuss discussion loi but we desire to impress on the minus of our readers the importance of the work which lies before the two conventions it is a work too which will have to be done mainly by indirection among other things they will have to convince the farmers i that the railroads do not and cannot supply all the demands for transportation that the cost of farm production h N largely increased by the difficulty of transporting it over bad roads and that this increase of cost is not added to the market price but falls wholly on the farmers that iha the work expended on the road under our present system is time labor lawr and money wasted that good roads will enable farmers to haul twice as much produce to market with the same mine teams the same labor and in the same time ft that the solution of the road problem will go far toward solving and settling the convict problem th that an improved system of roads scientifically and economically constructed ted will build up the country bring the farms nearer to market increase the value of farming lands and bring about intensive culture of diversified crops |